MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos reiterated the government’s end-of-year growth forecast of 3.1 percent on Thursday, saying the economic impact of the Catalonia political crisis was short term.

The political standoff over Catalonia, the wealthy northeastern region which was taken over by the central government after making an illegal declaration of independence, hit regional sectors like retail and tourism throughout October.

However, despite that localised slowdown, Spanish economic growth in the fourth quarter would be similar to that registered in the third quarter when output expanded by 0.8 percent from a quarter earlier, de Guindos said.